3월 30일 중국 간쑤성 바이인중급인민법원은 강간과 살인, 시신 훼손 등의 혐의로 2016년 체포된 가오청융(高承勇 54)에게 사형을 선고했다.
중국 최악의 연쇄살인범으로 불린 그가 처음 살인을 시작한 것은 1988년으로 알려졌다. 당시 그는 간쑤성 바이인시(市)에서 23세 여성을 살해한 뒤 희열을 느끼고 연쇄 살인을 시작했다.
그의 범죄는 1988년부터 2002년까지 14년간 이어졌다. 주로 젊은 여성을 대상으로 강간과 살인을 저질렀으며 그 중엔 8살 소녀까지 있었다. 당시 희생자 대부분은 붉은색 옷을 입고 있었고, 그는 피해자를 강간한 후 살해하고 시체의 목을 자르거나 성기를 오려내는 엽기적인 살해방법으로 현지에서는 ‘중국판 잭 더 리퍼’라는 별칭으로 불리며, 전중국인들을 공포에 질리게 만들었다.
10년이 넘는 시간 동안 잔혹한 범죄를 저지르던 그는 번번이 수사망을 빠져나갔지만, 엉뚱한 곳에서 꼬리를 잡혔다. 2001년 그의 친척 한 명이 범죄를 저질러 DNA검사를 받게 됐는데, 이 DNA와 희생자에게서 증거로 채취한 DNA 일부가 일치했던 것. 경찰은 DNA 분석 결과를 토대로 수사망을 좁혔고, 결국 2016년 8월 희대의 연쇄살인마를 체포하는데 성공했다.
조사 결과 그는 두 아들을 둔 평범하고 가정적인 가장이라는 사실이 알려지면서 대중을 더욱 충격에 빠지게 했다. 희생자들을 살해할 당시 별다른 죄의식을 느끼진 않았다고 밝혀 사이코패스로 추정되기도 했다.
그가 체포되고 사형선고가 내려지는 날까지, 희생자들은 고통의 나날을 보내야 했다. 첫 번째 희생자의 자매는 “지난 30년 사이 오빠와 어머니는 세상을 떠났고, 그 사건 이후 가족이 모두 뿔뿔이 흩어져야 했다”며 비통한 심정을 밝혔다.
https://m.weibo.cn/2656274875/4223208700333231
3月30日 上午10:00，被告人高承勇抢劫、故意杀人、强奸、侮辱尸体案在甘肃省白银市
中级人民法院一审宣判。从1988年到2002年，高承勇在甘肃、内蒙古先后残杀11名女性，最小的被害人年仅8岁。
A serial killer that terrorized northern China for over a decade and even became known as China’s very own “Jack the Ripper” was sentenced to death at a court in Gansu province earlier today.
During his trial last July, 54-year-old Gao Chengyong admitted to raping and murdering 11 women between 1988 and 2002. Police say that he targeted young women who dressed in red and lived alone. He would follow them home, rape them, and kill them. To earn Jack the Ripper comparisons, Gao would often slash the throats of his victims and mutilate their bodies, including cutting off parts of their reproductive organs.
Many of his victims were found wearing red.
Centered around the city of Baiyin in northeastern Gansu province, the killings terrified local women, who refused to go outside without a male escort. Gao’s youngest victim was just 8 years old.
The crimes were first officially linked in 2004. “The suspect has a sexual perversion and hates women. He’s reclusive and unsociable, but patient,” police said at the time while announcing a 200,000 yuan reward for information leading to his arrest. However, no promising leads came forward.
But, in 2016, police decided to re-open the cold case, using new technology to re-examine DNA evidence from the crime scenes. And then, they got lucky. Gao’s uncle was arrested for a minor crime. The DNA sample that he provided indicated that one of his relatives was responsible for the gruesome series of murders
Police began investigating and eventually zeroed in on Gao, who was registered as living in his hometown of Qingcheng, located about 120 km away from Baiyin, where he had found work at a local vocational school and was the father of two.
In 1988, the same year that his first son was born, Gao carried out his first murder, stabbing a 23-year-old woman 26 times and slashing her throat inside her own home. Gao told police that he killed the woman because she had caught him during a robbery attempt.
Gao’s first son never really knew his father — meeting him only once — but was shocked to hear what his dad had done.
“I didn’t know what to say, or how to deal with it,” he said. “I’ve accepted the fact, but I cannot understand why he did it.”
One of Gao’s cousins said that Gao had taken good care of his paralyzed father in the 1980s. Gao’s younger son said that his father had suffered through a bitter youth with his dream of becoming a pilot falling through because of “political reasons.”
As usual with these kind of cases, Gao’s neighbors were utterly shocked by what he had done. Locals described Gao as an introverted, honest, and silent man, who loved gambling, dogs, and dancing. “He never revealed what he really meant when he talked. But I never knew he hid so much,” one neighbor said.
Another neighbor revealed that Gao once spoke to him about the urban legends surrounding the serial killer of Baiyin, but said that he never could have imagined that Gao was the murderer.
Earlier today, a large crowd of around 150 people gathered outside of the courthouse in Baiyin. Included among the audience were some of the family members of Gao’s victims, who had made a special trip to hear the sentencing with one woman tearfully declaring that it is only right for the murderer to pay for his crimes with his own life.
In the end, Gao was given the death penalty for robbery, rape, murder, and mutilation of corpses. The judge also ruled that the family of each of Gao’s victims should receive 39,947 yuan each in compensation.
The court said that Gao will not appeal the sentencing.
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